Does high humidity cause RI? And roughies bathing habits

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Tigerlily

Active Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Messages
188
Reaction score
1
Location
Gold Coast
Do roughies need a dish big enough to soak in?

My roughie's started making the occasional wheezy noise :( He's healthy in every other way but I'm pretty sure it's early signs of RI. I'm going to try the F10 method before I take him to the herp vet but I also wondered if eucalyptus oil would work.

(edited to remove q about RI cause... google says too high humidity would do it)

I'm going to get him a bigger enclosure asap, in the meantime make more ventilation holes for him and also I'm considering decreasing the size of his water dish. Someone with a lot more reptile experience than me told me that roughies don't soak in their water dishes and it's true that I've never seen mine soak (the one time I tried to give him a bath he got very distressed). So would it be ok to reduce the dish size?

I know usually with RIs you increase humidity, but I'm asking this in case the constant high humidity is what got him sick to begin with.

Thanks for any help!
 
Last edited:
Yes, high humidity can cause R.I. Even is species such as GTP's if they are continually exposed to a high humidity enclosure without being allowed to dry out.
You don't increase humidity to treat/combat R.I you do the exact opposite and keep the enclosure as dry as possible with slightly raised heat.
The only time humidity is increased to "treat" R.I is when F10 or other home remedies are vaporised, that's because it is the only way to administer such home remedies.

If you can't combat it with a dry enclosure and raised temps take it to a vet and get a prescription of fortum.

P.S it's fine to downsize the waterbowl size
 
Hi Tigerlily,

I agree with pretty much all that has been advised above. Definitely drop the humidity, opt for a clean absorbent substrate (I'd suggest a few layers of Viva paper towel if still housed in a tub). They don't require a particularly large water bowl for soaking, so using something like a small ramekin will suffice. So long as they're readily drinking on their own, and the enclosure/tub is well insulated, the humidity levels will be fine.

I would also suggest upping the heat. Ensure there's an accessible hotspot of at least 34-35C as this will stop an RI from progressing further and help the reptile recover.

If things continue to get worse or don't progress, definitely seek vet treatment. As mentioned above, a course of antibiotic injections (either Fortum or Baytril) will be prescribed and should settle the problem.

All the best with your roughy! :)

Thals 8)
 
@HiramAbiff and @thals, thank you so much for your responses. You guys basically gave me everything I needed to know! Feel very relieved right now. @thais I will raise the hotspot - recently someone in the commercial reptile industry told me that I had my temps way too high (hotspot was 32) and that I should lower it to 28 so I followed his advice... I wonder if that combined with the humidity was what got my snake sick :( If so, I'm really annoyed because he was so persistent about lowering the temperature - I felt weird because one of his reasons was "you won't have to feed him as often" (I don't mind feeding him often! Once a week to fortnight is normal!!)... that should have been a red flag. Ugh sorry for the rant! I just believed everything he said because he works with snakes every day and he was so adamant I was doing it wrong... it's hard when you just don't have as much information out there that's verified to be accurate (compared to a cat for example).

Anyway, I've upped the hotspot, decreased dish size and increased ventilation on cool end. I'll keep an eye on him, may order the F10... if he doesn't improve within the next month I'll take him straight to the vet. I really appreciate you guys telling me the name of the medication, as that means I may be able to take him to our local vet instead of making the trek to the herp vet... fingers crossed they have some experience with exotics otherwise I'll have to take him to the herp vet. (My wallet...:cry:)

Many thanks again for the help you guys :)
 
Sorry to hear of the poor advice given to you, that is seriously awful information! For pythons they should alway have access to a hot spot of a minimum 32C degrees. Even when cooling, you don't lower the temps, just the amount of hours they have access to it.

You should start seeing improvement with the increased heat, let us know how you go :)
 
Quick update, he hasn't gotten worse but he hasn't improved either and I've found a local vet who sees snakes (and they have Baytril - not sure about Fortum) so I'll be taking him in next week just to be safe. Thanks again! :)
 
RI is usually progressive, so if your snake has RI it generally gets worse as the disease process continues. It may be that your snake has a minor obstruction in the airway, "wheezy" noises aren't especially uncommon in otherwise healthy snakes. If the animal is eating normally, and is in other respects behaving normally, you can be pretty sure it doesn't have RI. My suggestion would be to wait until the animal sheds its skin - this very often clears up the noisy breathing.

The signs of RI are generally more than just noisy breathing - excess mucus around the mouth, abnormal (uncomfortable looking) coiling to keep the airway open, puffing out in the throat region, occasional bubbling from the nostrils or mouth, and especially lack of appetite are usually present at some level when a snake has RI. If the animal is eating normally, I wouldn't bother with a vet visit, where they will likely use a drug therapy that may not be necessary, and has the potential to be fairly toxic. Baytril can cause tissue death around the injection site in some circumstances.

Jamie
 
[MENTION=41820]pythoninfinite[/MENTION] dang... thank you so much for this!!! I didn't know that Baytril can cause tissue death... that is kind of freaking me out! And I honestly had no idea that wheezy noises could be normal. I thought it could only be the first signs of RI. He also sometimes makes strange clicking sounds from his body while moving; I thought that was related to RI but it sounds more like bones clicking if that makes sense... is that normal as well? He actually just shed very recently (perfect shed) but I can't remember if it was before or after I started noticing the wheezing.

He definitely doesn't have any of the other symptoms you mentioned; in fact he just downed a giant rat last night and is still roaming around looking for more. I guess I won't take him to the vet unless I start seeing the other symptoms - do you reckon I should do an F10 treatment just in case, or leave him be?

Thanks so much for your help!
 
If he ate a big rat and is otherwise behaving normally, don't bother with the vet visit. Vet surgeries are like hospitals - they can be a source of infections because of the number of sick animals which attend their premises. We live on 100 acres of bush up near Port Macquarie, our dogs never see other dogs or come into contact with them from one end of the year to the next, so they never get fleas... until vaccination time... we take them to the vet, and EVERY year they come home with the beginnings of flea infestation and the resultant skin irritation. It's a bloody nuisance, and expensive to get under control...

Don't forget that pythons are normally slow movers as well - when we rev them up by handling them, they sometimes puff due to the unusual exertion. With regard to the antibiotic of choice - the vet should first identify the bug (if there is one causing a problem) and find out which antibiotic the germ is sensitive to. Baytril has its place, but has largely been superseded by Fortum for common infections.

Jamie
 
Thanks so much for that! It's true that I've always worried my animals could end up catching something when they're in the waiting room at the vet. Thought I was just being paranoid. I'll keep an eye on him and if I don't see any progressive symptoms I'll call it a day :)
 
The only good thing about going to the vet is when you sit in the waiting room with your snake in a tub, and watch other people's reactions.
Sorry to go off-topic. :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top